With family surnames of Schrader (Schroeder), Schmidt, Haessig, Steffen, Schulte, Trenkamp and Bohnenkamp, I knew that eventually I would need to focus on learning more about German geography and jurisdictions.
Other than place names on census and church records, I had no clue where to begin! I was not sure if I was reading the name of a village, duchy, province or state.
This weekend, I discovered a fantastic resource for getting past this stumbling block. It is a website called
Meyers Gazetteer, and can be found by clicking the highlighted link.
I played around with the site using various place names I have for my German ancestors. However, to give you a brief tutorial, I will focus on one area in particular.
In census records, I discovered that my paternal 2x great-grandfather came from Wachendorf. I also know that the majority of the original congregation of Adams Lutheran Church of Ripley County, Indiana came from a Lutheran Church in Heiligenfelde, Germany.
So, I will start from there...
I start with typing Wachendorf in the search box on the home page.
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| Type in place name in the search box |
My results show several places named Wachendorf in Germany. You can tell by my pushpin icon, I have chosen the first result as my most promising lead. Past research shows census records also listing Hannover and Prussia as his birthplace. Also, a past Google Maps search has shown me a Wachendorf near Syke and Heiligenfelde.
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Use your past research to help narrow
down best result, if possible. |
When I click on the top result, I am given quite a bit of information that should help me in my research. You will first note several key words in old-style writing that should have key words you might recognize.
Next, will be a current map showing the location of your village, etc. I will go into detail about the map in just a minute, but first I would like to point out the cornucopia of helpful information underneath the map.
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Details on the village you have entered
should help you in your research. |
After reading the volume, page number, and other abbreviations right below the map, I was able to look at the details following it for an explanation of what the abbreviations meant. For example, "Type D. u. LGem" means that Wachendorf is a Dorf und Landgemeinde (village and rural community).
The details also tell you where the civil registration office is, in addition to which government district, province, etc., in which the village belongs.
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| Add in extra "markers" to aid your research. |
Now, back to the maps...I love the feature that allows you to toggle back and forth between a present-day Google map and a historical map.
You can also add features that you would like to locate within your map. My ancestors went to a Lutheran church in Heiligenfelde, so I added Protestant churches.
It was wonderful seeing how close these were on the historical map! It really put it into perspective!
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| The same Google map in its historical context |
If you are not sure of the exact church your ancestors attended, or even the denomination, click on the "Ecclesiastical" tab. The website will bring up a list of the churches or synagogues nearby, listed with the closest first.
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Click on Ecclesiastical tab to discover
nearby places of worship |
As you can see for my family, the church in Heiligenfelde was only 2 miles away. This goes along with the information I already have regarding the church.
With so many German ancestors in my family tree, I am sure to be using this website often. It is getting bookmarked in my favorites right now!!
What do you think? For those of you with a German background, try it and tell me what you think!
